South Iceland is farly flat compared to other parts of Iceland. In the western part there's a great rural area and in the east you'll find a huge lava field. The centre part is an exception with a few glaciers, mountains and the famous volcano Hekla.
This is a spectacular area with Þorsmörk and the great waterfalls by the coast as some of the biggest tourist attractions. Out in the sea lie the Vestman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) famous after the volcanic eruptions in 1963 (Surtsey) and 1973 (Heimaey). More info about some areas follows here.
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Hveragerði and Selfoss are two agricultural communities in the largest agricultural district in Iceland.
Hveragerði (pop.1800) is mainly living from growing vegetables in greenhouses while the town is situated in a highly geothermal area. Tourism is also a big industry here and there is a huge tourist shop called Eden. In the middle of town is also an area where you can look at hot springs as well as a geyser. But there's a charge to get in there and the geyser only erupts every 8th hour or so.
Selfoss (pop.4500) is a large town by Icelandic standards. It's Icelands agricutural centre and can offer all kinds of service.
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Þorsmörk lies by the big glaciers Mýrdalsjökull and Ejyafjallajökull. This is a very green area while there are no sheep here. The green hills, high mountains, white glaciers and the many glacial rivers makes the area wild and beautiful.
Getting to Þorsmörk though isn't completely easy since you have to cross a few rivers on the way. And if driving alone a 4wd is necassary, but it is suggestable to drive in caravan. The easiest way of getting there is probably with the bus from Reykjavík, Selfoss or Hvolsvöllur. There are sometimes departures more than once a day.
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Skógafoss and Seljalandsfoss are the most impressive waterfalls along the south coust. They are both fairly high or around 60m. Both are easaly seen from the main road but deserve a closer look.
Skógafoss, just by the small community Skógar is by far the widest and most powerful of the two. Seljalandsfoss doesn't have that much water but is still very beautiful and it is possible to walk behind it.
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Dýrhólaey is the southernmost point of mainland Iceland. It's a cliff, 120 m, with a hole through which it is possible for boats to pass. It's not allowed to go all the way out to the cliff all parts of the year, in May and early June it's close in favour for the birds. But it's possible to get great views of the cliff from the beach on the east side of it.
Vík is a small green village just a few kilometers from Dýrhólaey. From the church on a hill you get a nice view of the area. By the sea there's a long black beach from where you can see the Reynisdrangar cliffs standing in the middle of the sea, up to 66m high.
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Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands) consists of numerous islands off the south coast of Iceland. Only one of them, Heimaey (Home Island) is inhabited and there are just under 5000 people living there today.
In 1973 Heimaey was in the focus of the world news when the volcano Eldfell had an eruption. The whole population had to be evacuated and luckily noone was injured. Big parts of the town was completely destroyed, but the people rebuilt their town again.
Earlier, in 1963, another volcanic eruption had accured out in the sea. An island, Surtsey, was found. The island has ever since been of deep interest among scientists in finding out how life starts in a completely new place.
Heimaey is on of the best places in the world for studying the puffin, Icelands own mascot. Thousands and thousands of birds nest in the cliffs along the coast. It is possible to take boat tours around the island.
Sightseeing tours by bus are also possible on the island. Climbing one of the islands to volcanoes gives a nice panoramic view and in clear weather Iceland can be seen in the distance.
Heimaey is a green (where there is no lava...) and beautiful island, of course geologically interesting. And it is nice to walk around in the lava field where there are marked paths. Close to the harbour, a very famous inhabitant used to live, Keiko, more known as the killer whale Willy in the movies.
Heimaey can be reached by air from Reykjavík or with the ferry Herjolfur from Porlákshöfn some 50 km southeast of Reykjavík.
